Author Topic: Fave Books / Currently Reading  (Read 947121 times)

BadGuyZero

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1770 on: April 02, 2012, 02:46:46 AM »
REAMDE by Neal Stephenson
Russian Mafia/Hacker Mayhem in and around a World-of-Warcraft like game. There's some pretty funny material revolving around the writers

Over or under 1,000 pages?

yesno

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1771 on: April 02, 2012, 06:52:58 AM »

wood and iron

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1772 on: April 02, 2012, 08:29:00 AM »


I saw that book being flogged on Boing Boing. Man, that title is enough to keep me away forever.

Steve of Bloomington

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1773 on: April 02, 2012, 09:34:37 AM »
REAMDE by Neal Stephenson
Russian Mafia/Hacker Mayhem in and around a World-of-Warcraft like game. There's some pretty funny material revolving around the writers

Over or under 1,000 pages?

eBook, so I don't know.

Seems like 1000+, though.

yesno

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1774 on: April 02, 2012, 05:57:26 PM »
Mark Leyner's "Et Tu, Babe" was inordinately formative for me.

bakersfieldchimp

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1775 on: April 05, 2012, 04:09:14 PM »
I've been reading through Columbine, based mostly off of Julie Klausner's praising of it on How Was Your Week. hoo boy... fascinating and unsettling at the same time. I've got Etgar Keret's new book next in the queue, which I'm hoping will serve as a suitable literary palate cleanser.

Mike Desert

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1776 on: April 07, 2012, 12:32:00 AM »
Still trying to get through Spray Paint the Walls. The segues are kind of annoying in that they mention all these other people and bands, but don't really go into interesting detail about them...I know it all relates to the black flag story...but maybe the black flag story is just kinda boring.  Get to the lawsuit already...I'd rather read a book about Würm or Hüsker Düde..or something with umlauts anyway.
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crumbum

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1777 on: April 07, 2012, 07:08:38 PM »
Read the first two Hunger Games books last week. I liked the first one a lot. It's expertly paced and the prose is pared down to the bone, giving it a hard-boiled quality that is a nice contrast to the surreal plot turns.

The second book is much less interesting. Kind of reminds me of the difference between the first and second Matrix movies (in trying to widen the scope the most basic pleasures of the original are lost). Not sure if I can be bothered to pick up the third.

Then I saw the film and with the exception of a few performances it's so unmemorable that I am tempted to reconsider my enjoyment of the book.

Steve of Bloomington

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1778 on: April 07, 2012, 11:48:33 PM »
I read the first Hunger Games book and enjoyed it for its can't put it down because look what just happened at the end of this chapter qualities. Nearly everybody in the world who's not a rabid fan has said not to bother with the other two books (including you now), so I feel like 'hey, that was fun, but I'm not going any further with this.'

I've been reading 'I want my MTV' forever. I know everybody else has moved on and I'm looking forward to the Johnny Ramone bio Wurster was quoting in his Facebook feed, but it's fun to occasionally pick it up and read a chapter.

Kevin from Pittsburgh

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1779 on: April 23, 2012, 04:07:58 PM »
Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erickson.  If you are looking for something to keep you going until The Winds of Winter comes out.  The main series is finished, and there are a couple of offshoots that flesh out the world.

As unforgiving as ASOIAF but with more fantasy elements.  Lots of great characters to carry you through 10 books.

Does anybody have the new issue of Wizard?  Mike is getting his issue of Wizard from his bag.

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1780 on: July 18, 2012, 07:17:54 PM »
Currently reading Big Day Coming, the Yo La Tengo bio, and found this nice assemblage of videos & links to other stuff mentioned in the book:

http://www.jessejarnow.com/2012/07/big-day-coming-readers-guide/
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Greggulator

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1781 on: July 19, 2012, 09:17:45 AM »
Just finished re-reading Tom Perrotta's Election (the basis for that pretty good movie with Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon).

I really love this book. LIke a ton. I know it's not classic work or anything but I'd much rather read this than something by Pynchon or Franzen any day of the week. I really like how he writes from the p.o.v's of each different character -- totally unique voices from a 33-year-old teacher and a15-year-old rebellious lesbian and all points in between. It's a great breezy 2-hour read.

Trying to dig up a copy of A Separate Peace, which was my favorite book I was forced to read in high school. It wasn't on Kindle the last time I checked. I want to see how well it holds up. I also have to remember not to reference it in comedy bits because it never works because my high school was seemingly the only school district where it was required reading.
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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1782 on: July 19, 2012, 10:30:49 AM »
Still trying to get through Spray Paint the Walls. The segues are kind of annoying in that they mention all these other people and bands, but don't really go into interesting detail about them...I know it all relates to the black flag story...but maybe the black flag story is just kinda boring.  Get to the lawsuit already...I'd rather read a book about Würm or Hüsker Düde..or something with umlauts anyway.
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B_Buster

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1783 on: October 22, 2012, 09:46:08 PM »
I'm enjoying Patti Smith's memoir, Just Kids, even though she seems intent on documenting every grilled cheese sandwich she ever ate.
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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1784 on: October 23, 2012, 09:44:17 AM »
Yes, I give Just Kids a big thumbs up.  Nice to see you enjoying something, Mike, and thanks for saving me the price of Neil Young's book.

I'm reading Brothers by David Talbot, a very absorbing book about John and Bobby Kennedy from JFK's White House years up until Bobby's assassination. Begins in medias res with the JFK assassination and Bobby's response to it, which is immediately to doubt the lone-gunman theory and suspect some combination of Cuban exiles, Mafia, and rogue Intelligence agents; then goes back to the beginning of JFK's administration to trace the history of the Kennedys' poisonous relations with all of those groups. Man, JFK really navigated some choppy fuckin' waters. My respect for him is increased. If you think The Crazy have a stranglehold on American politics now, this book will give you a longer view.

I turned to this book in search of some greater substance after reading Stephen King's JFK book which Tom has talked about. It started out fine and became quite compelling in the last 200 pages. I even choked up a bit at the conclusion. But arrggh, I hated hated hated the long middle wherein the hero spends a few years teaching in small-town early-60s Texas. Sentimental, drippy paean to small towns, high school, dances, football games, rah rah, I'm gonna puke now, and a looooonnnng excruciating love story. This book made me feel something I've never felt before: the wish to hurry the fuck up and get to Dallas.
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